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Ethno-Racial Political Transition and Citizen Satisfaction with Police

NCJ Number
211056
Journal
Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management Volume: 28 Issue: 2 Dated: 2005 Pages: 242-254
Author(s)
Brad W. Smith
Date Published
2005
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This study examined the impact of race on citizens’ satisfaction with police in a city that has undergone an ethno-racial political transition in city power structures, namely Washington, DC.
Abstract
A considerable amount of research has focused on citizens’ attitudes toward the police. One of the most consistent and widely discussed findings is from research conducted in 1996 that African-Americans hold less favorable views of the police than do White citizens. This study examined the issue that as a result of ethno-racial political transitions occurring in large cities attitudes toward the police of both African-American and White residents may have changed. The issue was examined in Washington, DC, which had undergone similar demographic and political changes. Data for the study were taken from a 1998 survey of households in 12 United States cities conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics. Respondents were questioned about criminal victimization, perceptions of safety, and satisfaction with local police. For this study, only data from Washington, DC, were utilized. The analysis was conducted in two stages. Despite the fact that African-Americans are a majority of the population in Washington, DC, that the city has been represented by African-American political leaders since the 1970s, and that nearly 75 percent of the police force is African-American, White residents were significantly more satisfied with the police than African-American residents. Overall, the results suggest that personal experiences and the neighborhood environment in which people live may matter more than individual characteristics of citizens, a finding consistent with more recent inquiries into the subject. Tables, notes, references, and appendix